BOWES IN HOME CARE, A HOME HEALTH CARE AGENCY FOR PROVIDING HIGH-QUALITY CARE SOLUTIONS
Bowes is a home health care agency that has built a very strong reputation for being a quality care provider. This was put to the test in early 2020 and Bowes proved that it earned that reputation and continues to do so without taking shortcuts.
Michael Collura, the President, and CEO of the entire team proudly states that the reputation stood solid in the face of so much turmoil facing the business and the industry. Taking problems head-on, even when all else seems to be falling apart, is the mark of a quality organization and demonstrates that leadership can and will make a difference.
MORE ABOUT MICHAEL COLLURA
As the President and CEO of Bowes In Home Care Michael is a leader who knows the value of the team. Michael has worked with the Bowes team since he purchased the company back in 2010. The success of Bowes is not a product of his own doing, at least not exclusively, as he attributes the brand’s success to those around him citing “If not for the team, I would just be someone with business cards that say ‘CEO’. The team makes the brand what it is, and the reputation we hold as a quality home health care provider is a fact, they achieved for us and uphold every day. I’m just happy to be part of the team.”
ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY
It was all a product of circumstance. Michael was already a successful entrepreneur in the senior care industry, and his reputation in the local market led the Owner of Bowes before 2010 to Michael’s office. There she explained her struggles with building the brand, and in just a few short months, Michael found himself purchasing the Bowes In Home Care business. From there it grew and over the next decade became one of the most recognizable brands for quality care in the market. An honor that continues today as Bowes continues its mission.
“Listen. Be a leader, not a manager. Understand you are not trying to be popular and that you will make mistakes. Embrace failure, as it serves as a path to success. Build the team so that you are not needed. Never think of yourself as the smartest person in the room. Do it because you care,” further added Michael.
Michael feels that everything and anything that happened yesterday, today, and tomorrow is a make-or-break moment. Why? Because even the smallest detail can be a moment that propels you forward in ways you had not imagined. You will trust someone, and they will disappoint you. You will see others around you grow and be more than they imagined or that you could ever hope for. The world will throw punches, you need to just take the hit, roll, and get back up. Then you will find your strength and meaning behind what it is you are doing and what matters. Then you counterpunch.
FUTURE PLANS
The goals for Bowes have never really changed in that Bowes seeks to be the best provider it can be looking only at itself as a means to measure ‘competition’. Bowes has and continues to be the trusted provider that stands strong with a reputation as a quality care provider. The entire team, from those from day one to present, has made that a possibility. The Covid pandemic is the greatest challenge Bowes has ever faced. Like the rest of the world, Bowes had to adapt fast to the ever-changing information and navigate within the healthcare industry to ensure patient safety was preserved.
Bowes is grateful to all those that have trusted this team with their care during these very difficult years. Bowes is grateful, even to those who may not be on the team today, for their contribution because they too impacted the team and their effort and contribution continues to be appreciated and celebrated today. That’s the mission, a legacy of quality care that will not diminish and only continue forward into the future.
CORPORATE ETHOS & CHALLENGES
Michael shares “There would be far too many to count, that’s part of being an entrepreneur. But in hindsight, the biggest regret I have is the people I trusted in that were not worthy. My greatest failure in life and profession will be that I trusted and allowed my blindness to the true nature of people to be clouded. Fortunately for me, that faith in people was restored as I later realized that true leadership and professionalism are around me and are still here today. The few, who I regret giving my heart to, are no longer a part of this journey.”
Michael is very good at recognizing those on the team and their impact on the mission and the brand. It may be one of his most endearing qualities among those that work with him, it is how he sees, values, and works to make the team stronger. One of the best inside jokes at Bowes is how Michael often has referred to himself as the “laziest CEO ever”. Because he has helped the team grow so much and expand on their abilities that he is not needed.
Bowes In Home Care took a huge risk in early 2020, without knowing of the efforts already underway behind the scenes to undermine and undercut the brand and its mission, that risk was much bigger than originally realized. The lesson is that when you are running a business of any kind ensure the leadership is properly qualified and morally adept to be part of your brand’s mission. Because not having the right leadership in place will be the biggest risk of all.
LEADERSHIP POSITION
Michael had this to say about his leadership and contribution; “I feel as if my most important decisions will be those that impact patient care. While I do leave the clinical decisions to the clinical leadership everything else and anything else can affect patient care and outcomes. So, in every decision that has to be considered, we must bear that in mind. Because if it does not make a positive impact to the patient then it is not that important at all.”
One can encourage creative thinking by tapping into the talent; of the team, listening to the feedback of everyone, and then taking those messages to heart towards a better solution. Great ideas come from everywhere; the team, the patients, the families, the medical professionals, and everywhere else. Sometimes a bad idea can lead to something that was never considered. Bowes has a rich history of developing forward-thinking and innovative ideas.
ADVICE FOR THE READERS
Michael shares, “Understand you will not be liked or please everyone. Lead with integrity, no matter the criticism or consequence. Be fair, open-minded, and listen. Be prepared for anything, because the unknown IS out there. Work to make others better, not yourself. Know that sacrifice is part of the job, not an entitlement. Make a difference in the lives of others or step aside.”
